


Interlude I: Understanding

by Writer_Geekgirl



Series: Castiel and Dean: An AU Love Story [24]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel and Dean Winchester Watch Movies, Castiel in the Bunker, Destiel Promptober, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Promptober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 05:41:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16402376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writer_Geekgirl/pseuds/Writer_Geekgirl
Summary: In the ongoing series in which the Winchesters visit alternate realities, Dean, Sam, and Castiel find a brief respite at home in the bunker. Castiel has heartfelt conversations with Sam and Dean.This work is part of the Destiel Promptober in which there is a different AU theme for each day in October. The AU for the day is Ghibli.





	Interlude I: Understanding

Sam walked into the library where Dean and Castiel were watching something on his computer screen. Sam thought he caught the flash of animated characters before Dean heard him and closed the laptop quickly.

Sam shook his head and grumbled, "No watching your anime porn in the library with Cas. Just no."

Castiel lifted an eyebrow and looked at Sam, "Why do you think it was porn?"

"That's the only animated thing I've ever seen him watch besides Scooby Doo. I can't count how many times he's downloaded viruses on my computer because of that crap."

Dean added, "It's ok, Cas. He caught us doing the porn thing. Be like Elsa, and let it go."

"But it wasn't porn," Castiel grumbled stubbornly. "And it had pretty music. And was a beautiful tale." He glared at Dean.

Sam said, "Whoa, I didn't mean to cause a fight."

Dean sighed at Sam, "It's a movie called _Howl's Moving Castiel_. It's from Ghibli Studios."

Castiel said, "It's one of his favorites. He mentioned it several times, so I wanted to see it. It's about a young girl who gets turned into an old woman by a witch's curse because of her friendship with a wizard named Howl who lives in a magical castle. Then, Howl tries to… "

"It's no big deal, Cas," Dean stood up and shrugged. He picked up his laptop and headed to his room.

Castiel glared at Sam without saying a word. Sam began to feel like he might melt under the intensity of Castiel's glare. Sam finally said, "I didn't mean to hurt his feelings."

Castiel sighed, "Dean's complicated."

"I'm happy he has you, Cas. It's always better when you are here."

"And I'm happy he has you. I know he picks on you as well -- your height, your hair, your love for nutritional food," Castiel shrugs. "He just doesn't like to show his soft side, and I guess watching a movie about a young girl is his soft side."

"But he shares it with you."

Castiel squinted, "I think it's because he thinks I don't understand that watching a chick-flick or Dr. Sexy would be considered less 'manly.'" Castiel put air quotes around the word manly. "It's your father's legacy. He wanted to make Dean grow up tough. So, Dean internalizes and compartmentalizes things. It's perfectly ok for you and everyone else to know he likes anime porn, but not love stories."

"So, it's ok for us to know about cowboys, but not that he likes cooking shows."

Castiel shrugged, "Yes. He's more open than he used to be."

"Yeah, I think Dad would have a fit about Dean being with you. You're both supernatural and well…"

"Male?"

Sam looked away. "He was from another generation."

"I have no gender. Unfortunately for Jimmy, he was just the most accessible vessel at the time. I've used female vessels before. The last time I was on Earth, I used a young woman named Katherine as a vessel. Thankfully, I was able to return her to her family when I was done without any serious repercussions to her life. It pains me to know what I've done to Jimmy and his family. If I lost this vessel, I don't think I'd ever take another. I'm not even sure I could survive without the vessel with all the damage I've undergone and how God rebuilt me."

"Should I go apologize to him?"

"I'll go. Can I hug you, Sam?"

"You don’t really have to ask, Cas. You're are like my brother. You're family," Sam responded.

Castiel hugged him briefly before saying, "He'll be ok, Sam. He just needs to chill for a bit." Castiel started to walk out of the room before pausing. "I am still wondering why another Sam would send Dean to different realities. I think me or you getting pulled along in the stream is purely coincidental. Dean is the real focus of it."

"I wish I could tell you, Cas. I've sat and thought for hours why I would do that, and I got nothing."

Castiel walked down the hall and knocked gently on Dean's door before opening. Dean was sitting on the bed, looking a picture of him and Charlie at a LARPing event. Castiel sat down the edge of the bed next to him. Dean sighed and put his head on Castiel's shoulder. Dean smiled at the picture, "Charlie's the one that introduced me to _Howl's Moving Castle_. We watched it lying in this bed on my laptop. Sam went to sleep early."

"Why didn't you just tell Sam that?"

Dean shrugged. "It bothers me that his mind went straight to porn, but I guess I deserved it. I went through women like a hot knife through butter in my misspent youth. I couldn't tell you how many times Sam walked in on me and a woman, sometimes more than one at a time. Booze, babes, and burritos were my mantra. I think I spent about ten years in that state."

"What changed?"

"You."

Castiel blinked at him, "I never judged or criticized you."

"You didn't need to, Cas. I mean yeah, I had a few flings here and there, but I wanted to be better after I met you. We both know I'm a functioning alcoholic. When I'm with you, it's better. When you aren't here, I get worse. I guess I just wanted to be worthy of having an angel as a friend."

Castiel let out a small huff of a laugh, "Dean, you are my role model. You're brave, selfless, willing to do the hard thing, and you'll do whatever it takes to save the life of someone you don't know. You made me realize how broken the angels were. We were supposed to take care of humans, but we failed abysmally. But, if not for you, I would have stayed by their sides, carrying out what I thought was God's will. But, it was really the archangels trying to figure which one had the biggest dick."

Dean laughed, "My life's achievement is that I taught an angel to say the word dick."

"You taught me lots of things, Dean. You should talk about Charlie with Sam sometime. You never would after she died. You never properly grieved for her. You owe to it to her to talk about how much she meant to you sometimes."

Dean scoffed, "It wouldn't bring her back. I mean I've met alternate universe versions of her, but it's not the same. It almost makes it worse when we travel and see her because it reminds me of everything we lost."

"Which is precisely why you should talk to Sam about her."

"To reopen old wounds?"

Castiel sighed, "To let Sam in. He makes these jokes because you make jokes. You only drop the façade when you almost lose him. I'm not saying you have to braid his hair, that would be weird. But instead of keeping those feelings inside, share the chick-flick moments with Sam. You share them with me, but I'm not human. I can't process or understand your grief in the same way that Sam does. I grieve her loss, but for me, it's more abstract. I know she's probably in Heaven, and I used to be able to go back and forth at will. Now, losing you or Sam would be different. I pulled you both from Hell and repaired you; you are both parts of me. Although I did a much better job with you obviously since I left Sam's soul behind."

Dean snorted, "How come you don't have a profound bond with him?"

"Because I fell, both literally and figuratively, for his older brother first. And Sam's not my type, too tall."

"Dude, you're the size of the Chrysler building."

The corner of Castiel's mouth quirked up in a small smile, "I might have been bragging a little bit when I said that."

"So, how tall are you?"

"Six-feet approximately."

"Not your vessel, you."

Castiel traced a finger down Dean's profile. "There is no me outside this vessel anymore. Not really. I'm much smaller than I used to be."

Dean snorted, "I've seen your wings."

"Battered and bruised as they are," Castiel sighed.

Dean responded, "Us being bruised and battered just means we survived."

Castiel smiled at him shyly, "I think in some areas we might have even thrived. I do not regret what I've become. Maybe, I'm somewhere between human and angel, but I'd like to think that I have the best of both worlds. Enough grace to be useful in a fight, but not so much that I can't appreciate human things."

"You a mangel."

Castiel glared at him with a slight frown.

Dean offered, "An angman?"

"It's getting worse, not better, Dean."

"A humgel?"

Castiel sighed, "It's a good thing that you are pretty."

"You love me. I'm adorable," Dean tried to look cute.

"Perhaps I should have heeded Uriel when he told me not to get too close to my charges?" Castiel smiled at Dean fondly.

"Want to finish the movie?"

"As you wish, buttercup."


End file.
